Credit Transfer

Use your previous HE study to help you gain an OU qualification

If you are planning to start your studies in October 2015, we must have received your completed credit transfer application and all supporting evidence by 13th August 2015. Applications received after this date are unlikely to be processed in time for students to start studying in October 2015.

If you have previously studied elsewhere and your studies were completed at the same academic level as OU modules, we may be able to award you credit transfer towards an OU qualification. This will allow you to use your previous study instead of completing some of the modules required through the OU.

If you have successfully completed, in full or in part, study that appears on our list of approved qualifications you may wish to apply to transfer credit from this previous study into your OU qualification.

For example you may have completed the first year of a degree at another university and want to transfer this credit to your degree at the OU. Or you may have completed a professional or vocational qualification listed on the Ofqual register (the QCF), and want to transfer this credit to the OU.

If you think you may be eligible for credit transfer then you must arrange this before you register for an OU qualification or start studying with us. Once you have begun your studies you will not be able to apply for credit transfer. If you are awarded credit transfer then you will usually join the qualification at a later point than other students. Some qualifications require students to make choices that determine their specialist route through a qualification. In order that you can make best use of your previous study you will make your choices when your credit transfer has been awarded before you start your OU study.

There is no fee for applications for credit transfer but you must make sure that you allow enough time for your application to be considered. Applications for credit transfer normally take around 6 weeks to be finalised.

This website provides information for those students who start studying with us for the first time in October 2012 or later. If you studied with the OU before August 2012 please make sure that you have logged in with your OU computer user name and password for more accurate credit transfer advice.

Top 6 things you need to know

For some types of previous study we are able to award credit for study completed up to 16 years ago. Unfortunately anything completed more than 16 years ago will not be eligible for credit transfer purposes.

Credit transfer can be awarded at undergraduate Level 1 or 2, or at postgraduate level, but we do not award credit transfer at undergraduate Level 3. OU regulations require that any OU Level 3 study in a qualification must be completed by studying OU modules. If you have eligible previous study at OU Level 3 then you will be awarded credit for this at a lower level. Read more about how we recognise Level 3 credit.

When you apply for credit transfer you will need to supply original copies of your certificates and transcripts, photocopies can not be accepted. If you are applying to transfer credit towards one of our named degrees you may also need to provide information on the syllabus you followed. If you are not able to send your original certificates in the post to us, please see your other options.

If you were exempted from any part of your previous qualification, or your transcript shows details of any condoned passes, we cannot award credit for this part of your study. However in most cases, we can make an award based on the module or elements of the study you did complete. What if I was exempted from part of my study?

Our undergraduate qualifications are now made up of modules that are either 30 or 60 credits. For this reason we will award credit transfer in multiples of 30. If your previous study is listed on this site as being eligible for an award of less than 30 credits you will only be able to use that credit if you have further additional study that can bring your total credit transfer to 30 credits or more.

You should apply for credit transfer as soon as possible once you have decided which OU qualification you wish to study. You need to finalise your credit transfer before you register to start studying with us*. If you live in England and are also planning to apply for a part-time tuition fee loan in order to fund your studies you will need to leave plenty of time for your application to be processed before registration closes. If you are planning to start your studies in October 2015, we must receive your completed application and all supporting evidence by 13 August 2015. If your complete application is received by this date, we will guarantee to finalise any award of credit transfer before registration closes for October qualifications*. Applications received after this date, are unlikely to be processed in time for students to start studying in October 2015. For details of when registration opens for your chosen qualification, please refer to the qualification description at http://www.open.ac.uk/study

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